The announcement was made on the SNL blog: “Well it’s official, summer is winding down. And while we’re sad to say goodbye to sun, shorts and the beach, we are excited to say hello to all of our friends and fans when we return for the Season 38 premiere on September 15th!! It’s been so long; we’ve missed you! So take advantage of these last few weeks of summer, hit up all the spots Stefon recommends and we will see you soon! Cannot wait.”

Yeah, I know you thought this list was all males! Well, it isn’t. I picked two women here because I had two women left and one spot left so I just put them together because that’s the way it happened to turn out. Nothing against these two women, because they’re hilarious and should get their own spot. But I like symmetry so they’ll have to share a quick spot. Let me start with Sara: I found her via UCB and watched her stand up and alternative work online. She’s great. She’s sort of nerdy-looking and weird – which can really work for her – but definitely has more than one facet of her comedic personality.

Lauren Lapkus, on the other hand, I saw performing at ASSSSCAT in UCB in Los Angeles. She was fantastic as well. Plenty of characters, very quick witted, and creative in a way where she’ll still stay realistic. There’s something about her that makes her seem like the right choice. She’s got a lot going for her. These two women would be fantastic additions to the show (which does need more women!).

Bonus round: I wanted to do one of these for the cast members because I did one for the hosts. My bonus cast member? Courtney Pauroso. The reason I say this is that I’ve seen some of her Groundlings imrpov online and I think she’s quite funny and would be a fun addition. I don’t want to say more, because I haven’t seen her perform in person. But she’s dynamic and quirky. I also love Lennon Parham – star and writer of NBC’s failed by brilliant show Best Friends Forever – but I haven’t seen enough of her performances to really judge if she would be a good fit. But based on what I’ve seen, she’s brilliant.

Because SNL has recently looked largely to UCB and Second City for their cream of the crop, I’d expect them to go to The Groundlings and Improv Olympic as well. Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Will Ferrell – they are all Groundlings alums. More recently, Taran Killam, as well. I’d expect a fair amount of their new performers to of course come from UCB (because it is right in the city) but also from Improv Olympic, where Lorne held auditions in July, and The Groundlings. Look out for your favorite new performers to come from these comedy clubs.